THE CITY OF WESTON

~ HURRICANE IRMA ~ COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION #12 September 13, 2017 - 1:00 PM CITY OF WESTON UPDATES   The City of Weston is NOT under a Boil Water Notice.   CITY OFFICES: City of Weston administrative offices have resumed normal hours of operation.   City Hall: Open for Business 954-385-2000 Public Works: Currently, the phones at our Public Works facility are not working, please call City Hall at 954-385-2000.   CITY PARKS: All passive parks are OPEN. That list includes: Gator Run, Eagle Point, Indian Trace, Peace Mound, Heron, Country Isles, Windmill Ranch, Town Center Park, Library Park, and Emerald Estates Park.   It is recommended to use caution in playground areas until the playground sunshades are re-installed. The playground equipment and safety surfacing may become hot. Be sure that children wear shoes at all times.   Our large parks are CLOSED today: Weston Regional Park, Tequesta Trace Park and Vista Park   The Weston Tennis Center is CLOSED today.   The Weston YMCA Family Center is CLOSED today and will remain closed until further notice.   CYCLISTS, JOGGERS, RUNNERS AND PEDESTRIANS: Bike lanes and sidewalks are filled with debris.  You are encouraged not to bike or cycle on roadways for your safety as you may be forced into traffic due to the debris.  Use extreme caution on roads and sidewalks as debris continues to be cleared daily.   GARBAGE AND RECYCLING SERVICE: Regularly scheduled garbage and recycling collection service began on Tuesday, September 12, 2017. Recycling service is behind schedule.  If you did not receive service, leave your cart out. Trucks have limited access to certain communities due to low hanging power lines and roadway debris.    STANDING WATER / LOCALIZED FLOODING: The City's stormwater pumps remain fully operational. Weston's swales and lakes were designed for rainwater retention to hold water as it drains into the stormwater system. Check your nearest catch basin to make sure it is clear to ensure for proper drainage.   DO NOT allow children to play in standing water. It may be electrically charged due to downed power lines or may be contaminated.   TREES DOWN blocking roadways:   Do NOT call Fire Stations or Police Department to report downed trees. Although the City has done a citywide assessment, you may report downed trees by calling City Hall at 954-385-2000. The City of Weston Public Works Department phone lines are currently down.   Crews continue to remove trees that are blocking both public and private roadways.   TREES DOWN on private property: The City will not perform disaster debris removal from private rights-of-ways, within gated communities, and from private properties, except in the event that rescue vehicles will be significantly hindered from rendering emergency services to life and property should the debris be allowed to remain in place absent City relocation unless it is blocking the road.   The City of Weston has submitted a request for assistance based upon the post-disaster emergency management process that FEMA has in place. The City is also exploring additional options to assist in the removal of the additional vegetation and storm debris. Broward County's Temporary Debris site for disposal of storm debris will not open until Friday evening; therefore, debris cannot be disposed of by waste haulers until that time.   BROWARD AREA UPDATES: Visit Broward.org/Hurricane for countywide cancellations and closures, or call the Broward County Hurricane Hotline at 3-1-1 or 954-831-4000, from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm daily.   AIRPORT: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport reopens today. Passengers are advised to contact their airlines for updates.   BUSINESS DAMAGES / ASSISTANCE: If your business suffered a loss as a result of Hurricane Irma, you may be eligible for a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan of up to $2 million to meet necessary financial obligations - expenses the business would have paid if the disaster had not occurred. The online SBA Disaster Loan application can be accessed at: https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.     IF ACTIVATED by the state, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance will work in cooperation with the Small Business Development Center to assist in the administration of the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program. Bridge Loans are short-term, interest-free working capital loans that are intended to "bridge the gap" between the time a major catastrophe hits and when a business has secured longer term recovery resources. Small Business Administration loans are also available for larger amounts and longer terms. For more information, please visit Floridadisasterloan.org for details.   GAS: Port Everglades is open and gas is begin delivered to local area gas stations. Stations with power or back-up generators will be online as soon as they receive delivery. The following are smartphone apps that are useful tools to locate the nearest working gas station: Gas Buddy and Waze.   HOUSING ASSISTANCE: For details on post-storm assistance from FEMA, click here or visit disasterassistance.gov. The FEMA Individuals and Households Program (IHP) has also been activated to assist individuals that sustain major damage to their home.  Click here for details.   LIBRARY: The Weston Branch Library is open today from 10 AM - 6 PM with limited services. Late fees, as well as fines for holds not picked up, will be waived through Friday, September 15 for all Broward County Library locations. Visit Broward.org/Library for details.   PHONE/INTERNET SERVICE: Cell phone towers may be down or overloaded. Make essential calls only to prevent overloading the regional phone system until lines are fully restored. Your home phone, internet and cable service may also be down. Contact your service provider for updates on service restoration.   POWER OUTAGES: Power outages are widespread throughout Florida. Power may be out for an extended period of time. FPL is working to restore power as soon as possible; however, it will take time due to the widespread outages and large number of customers impacted. They have crews working around the clock to restore power. The City has no control over power restoration. FPL anticipates all Broward customers to be restored by Sunday, September 17th.  Check FPL.com/storm for details.   Call 9-1-1 to report dangerous downed power lines.   If your power is out for more than four hours, check food in your refrigerator and freezer for contamination. When in doubt, throw it out!   PROPERTY DAMAGE: Report damage to your home online with the Broward County Home Damage Assessment tool at Broward.org/Hurricane.   Are you a business owner?  Click here to take the Irma Damage Assessment Survey at the Florida Virtual Business Emergency Operations Center (FLBVEOC)   TRAFFIC SIGNALS: Treat all intersections with inoperable traffic signals as 4-way stops. Work is being done to restore signals as soon as possible. Be cautious and be courteous. Being first is not worth risking your life.   SCHOOLS: All Broward County Public Schools remain closed through Friday, September 15th. BCPS staff continues to assess school campuses to determine when it will be possible to reopen schools. At this time, many school campuses are without power.   The District's goal is to reopen schools on Monday, September 18, 2017, pending the restoration of power. BCPS will continue to keep families and employees updated with the latest information regarding BCPS operations, as it becomes available.   BCPS continues to provide updates via a variety of communication channels, including the District website (BrowardSchools.com), robocalls, social media (Twitter @BrowardSchools and on Facebook (Facebook.com/BrowardSchools), the free BCPS mobile app, BECON-TV and local media. The District also continues to update its Information Hotline at 754-321-0321. Tips for After the Storm:   Generator Safety Do NOT use while it is raining to avoid electrocution.  Operate on a dry surface under a canopy-like structure, if possible.  Do not touch with wet hands. Only use outdoors and away from open windows. Turn off before refueling and let cool. Standing Water Do not allow children to play in standing water.  Water can be electrically charged due to downed power lines and can be contaminated. Post-storm Dangers Treat all power lines as live.  Immediately report sparking or downed power lines to 911. If your power is out for an extended period, check food in your refrigerator and freezer for contamination.  When in doubt, throw it out! Trees  on your property may have dangling limbs. Assess damage to prevent injuries from debris that may fall later. Use caution when removing shutters.  Most fatal accidents happen before and after the storm's arrival.    Returning Home If you evacuated from your home, the American Red Cross offers the following tips to follow when you return, visit:  American Red Cross - After the Storm Reconnect with Loved Ones It may be difficult for you to reach loved ones, especially if they were in the areas that were heavily impacted.  Phone reception is spotty as well.  Check the following site, as well as social media sites, to help reconnect with loved ones as conditions improve.  American Red Cross Safe and Well website

INFORMATION FROM THE CITY OF WESTON Details and resources available at Westonfl.org/Hurricane  City of Weston updates will be posted at www.westonfl.org/HappeningNow.aspx.  Follow the City of Weston on Twitter at @CityofWeston for ongoing updates and set an audible alert for our Alert account at @WestonFLAlert.  Register to receive CodeRED emergency notifications from the City of Weston at WestonFL.org/Residents/Hurricane/CodeRed.aspx.

954-385-2000 Westonfl.org